Submarine mine.



Patented Apr. 7, 19M

F g/Hui J I G. E. ELIA. SUBMARINE MINE. APPLICATION FILED 00w. 2a,v191 2.-

- amen snares Parana GIOVANNI n'ivmnuntn ELIA, or nor-an, ITALY.

suinymnrnn MINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GIOVANNI EMANUELE ELIA, a subject of the King of Italy, residing in Rome, Italy, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Submarine Mines and I do hereby declare the fpllowing to be a full, clear, and exact descrlption of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and {use the same.

This invention relates to anadjustable automatic firing mechanism for submarine mines, by which the point of explosion of the mine on the side of a ship can be determined, and which can be examined at any time for a regulation and'keeping in repair.

In the accompanying drawing, which shows one embodiment of the invention-by way ofiexample, Figure 1 isa view oi the complete mine; Fig. 1 is a detail of the casing; Fig. 2 is 'a detail on .a-larger'scale of the firing mechanism, and Fig. 3 is a one-half plan of the latter. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail partly in section showing thecomiections by which the recurrent movements of the mine in contact with a vessel eilect the release of the firing mechanism. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail of the lock actuating piston.

On the body a of the min -provided with points or projections 6, preferably arranged in staggered relation to insure its rotation when engaged by the hull ofa ship, are arranged rock-levers c'each head e having'suitable pro ect1ons and'con-- rovided with a nected by a suitable pull connection 0, c

to a pawl d actuating a ratchet wheel see- Fig. 4, whichfcarries an annular shoulder g on its lateral face, cut away at h and against which bears a projection e integral with a piston j sliding in'a cylinder k and against which bears a spring m, the other end of which bears against the end of the cylinder Za, see Figs, 4: and 5. Said piston 7' comprises a rod 97., passing outwardly through the stuffing box'o and guided at one point by a sliding block and at another point by a yoke g, pivoted at g on the body of the mine. The end 7- of the rod n engages aperforation s of a cross piece t to which is secured the eye it for the anchoring cable, not shown, of the mine. Said cross piece is pivoted at its end a to lateral levers w, integral with trunnions y, pivoted in fixed bearin Thebuoyancy of the mine, or'its ten ,tyto rise, is therefore counteracted Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 28, 1912. Serial No. 728,155. I

Patented Apr." '3, rigid.

by the anchoring cable and cross piece -13,

connected to said cable, which cross piece is locked in retracted position against the body of the mine by the end 1' of the rod n. On each of trunnions g is keyed an arm w, the end 1 of which, suitably rounded, cn-

gages an abutment 2, forming part of a piston 3, acted on by a spring i and' mounted in 'a fixed cylinder 5. At the internal end of explosive charge is completely inclosed within a cylinder 9, independent from the body of the mine and maintained in position by a plate 10, which presses on said cylinder through fiat springs 11 and which is attached to the body of the some suitable tight joint.

The operation is as follows z-The elements occupying the position of Figs. 1 and 2 and the rod n engaging in the, cross piece 5', the eye it of the mooring cabie is attached to' said cross piece and then the mine is placed in the water'with its elements therefore occupying, immediately after it is put down, the operative position represented in the drawing. The piston j is held in the position of Fig. 2 by the annular shoulder 9, notwithstanding the action ot' the spring m. When a moving ship comes into contact with the mine, it ,causes, in consequence of the mine by means of SUN arrangement of the points or projections Z9,

an uninterrupted series of rotations of the mine as long as the contact lasts; the levers c are therefore brought into contact with the hull at each rotation, and receive recurrent impulses which cause them to rock or oscillate and exert a pull on connections a, c

and pawl d, at each contact, to, partially rotate the ratchet wheel f and, consequently,

the annular projection The mine-itself will probably also oscillate'or swing during this rotation, causing the levers c to strike against the hull, thereby rocinng said levers and transmitting themovement thereof to the pawl cZ to rotate the, ratchet, as described. After a certain number of such recurrent oscillations of the levers 0 have occurredflahe structive effect.

1' of its rod 11. from the perforation s of the cross piece t. The mine then tends to rise in consequence of its buoyancy, and being no longer secured by the rod n, the cross piece 6 and levers a). turn around the pivots y of the latter until the said cross piece andlevers straightenand depend in substantial vertical alinement from the pivots 3 Since the trunnions 3 are integral with said levers, the former make a partial rotation, carrying with them the arms to, the ends of which force back the piston 3, strongly compressing the spring 4. The rounded ends 1 of arms w finally pass off the projections 2, and the piston 3 is then violently advanced by its spring 4, forcing the pin 6 against the cap 7 whereby the mine is fired.

The advantages are as follows: The described arrangement of the points or projections Z) on the body of the mine insures its rotation under all conditions of contact with the hull of a ship, so that, by taking note of the fact that an oscillation of the lever c is produced at each rotation of the mine, it would be easy to determine the point of explosion of the mine relatively to the hull of the ship, 'In fact, it will be suflicient to determine the number of teeth of the ratchet f through which the latter must turn in order to bring its cut away portion in line with the-projection i, in order to obtain the explosion at the desired point of the ship. For example, the circumference of the mine being 21} meters, if it is desired to destroy a ship 100 meters in length, the mechanism will be arranged so that the ex plosion will take place, for example, at 40 or 50 meters from the bow, that is to say, the mine will be allowed to make about20 rotations before the percussion pin is released, in order to obtain its maximum de- The location of the firing mechanism entirely outside of the mine, permits, on the one hand, of its being examined at any time and, on the other hand, of its being placed in position on the mine at the last moment, so that the mine can be handled without any danger. On the other hand, by thus reducing the number of elements, such as springs, the certainty of operation of the mine is increased. Themines can also be raised without danger, since the operation of raising them by means of a dragging, cable, has no action on the levers c. The absence of any locking element composed of a fusible salt or the like, places the mine in operative condition immediately after it isplaced in the water, while permitting the planting vessel to remove to a distance, so that this mine may be used to form a barrier in front of moving ships at a small distance from said ships, which offers a great advantage, for example in foggy weather or during the night.

The position of the elements could evi dently be varied from that represented Without departing from the principle of the invention. F orv example, the direction ofmovement of the piston 7' might be reversed by giving its rod a suitable shape.

' The invention is applicable to submarine mines of all kinds, mechanical or electrical. WV hat I claim is 1. A submarine mine, comprising an explosive container, a firing mechanism, and

means including an oscillating contact lever carried by the mine and actuated by the successive movements of the mine in contact with the hull of a vessel for releasing said firing mechanism-only after a predetermined number of'oscillations of said lever have been effected.

2. A submarine mine, comprising an exi plosive container, a normally retracted firing mechanism, means for locking said firing mechanism in inoperative position, auxiliary means for locking said first locking means, and mechanism operated by successive movements of the mine in contact with the hull .shell upon contact with the hull of a passing vessel, firing mechanism carried by the shell, a system of levers controlling the operation of. the firing mechanism and connected to the mooring cable, means for look- .ing said lever system, and mechanism controlled by the recurrent movements of the shell for releasing said locking mechanism; whereby the lever system operates the firing mechanism.

5. In a submarine mine, an explosive containing shell provided with means to cause recurrent movements of the shell upon contact with the hull of a passing vessel, and automatic adjustable firing mechanism, comprising a percussion pin, a controlling lever for said pin connected. to the mooring cable, means for locking said lever in operative position, and adjustable means controlled by the recurrent movements of the mine for releasing said lock.

(3. In a submarinermine, an explosive containingshell provided with means to cause recurrent movements of the shell upon contact with the hull of' 'a passing vessel, and' automatic adj ustablefiring mechanism, comprising a percusslon pin, a lever pivoted adjacent said pin and controlling the operatlon thereof, means for connecting said le- 'ver to the mooring cable, means for locking 'said lever in inoperate position, and adjustable means control ed by the recurrent movements of the mine for releasing said lock.

7. In a submarine mine, an explosive. containing shell provided with means to cause recurrent movements of the shell upon contact with the hull of a-vesse'l, and automatic adjustable firing mechanism for said mine comprising a spring-actuated percussion pin,

a lever pivoted adj acent to said pin and controlling the operation thereof, means for connecting said lever to the mooring cable,

a spring-actuated bolt for normally locking in inoperative position against. the body of the mine, andmeans operated and controlled by the recurrent movements of the mine in contact with a vessel for actuating said locking means to release the lever aforesaid; whereby the point of explosion of the mine relative to the ship is determined.

9. An automatic firing mechanism for submarine mines, comprising a spring-actuated percussion pin, a bell crank lever pivoted adjacent said pin having an arm adapted to first move the pin against the tension of its spring and then release said pin and a second arm adapted to be connected to the mooring cable, a spring actuated bolt adapted to lock said leverin inoperative position, adjustable pawl and ratchet mechanism controlling the operation of said locking pin, and means controlled by successive movements ofthe mine against a ship for actuating said pawl and ratchet mechanism;

whereby the point of explosion of the mine relative to the ship is determined.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

GIOVANNI EMANUELE ELIA.

Witnesses:

GHAs. J. ONEILL, VERNON T. HOUGHTON.. 

